Call For Proposals
Enterprise Performance in Asia (EPA) Research Grants

The Asian Institute of Management Policy Center (Manila), in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), is inviting junior/individual researchers to submit proposals for the Enterprise Performance in Asia (EPA) research grants.

ABOUT EPA: EPA aims to support and promote evidence-based research on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in middle-income Asian countries in order to address the gaps in the enterprise development literature and maximize the use of available enterprise survey data. The list of countries includes: Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. The authors are encouraged to utilize the World Bank Enterprise Surveys (http://www.enterprisesurveys.org) or relevant primary data sources.

PROJECT DETAILS: The project will support research proposals that will address any of the three main policy issues on MSME development, namely, (1) obstacles to growth,(2) innovation and (3) vulnerability to crises. Furthermore, the treatment of cross-cutting themes, such as on factors constraining growth of female-led enterprises and the prevalence of informality is highly encouraged. The project will also support policy dialogues between the private sector and public policy makers in the training workshops and in the international conference on enterprise development. A publication synthesizing the main project outputs will be produced in 2013.